During National Safe Boating Week last month NOAA didn’t talk about the dangers of rip currents and that’s because rip current safety gets its own week in June. This safety week is also brought to you by the National Park Service and U.S Lifesaving Association because summer is about to hit full swing and everyone is heading to the water, whether its the lake or beach.

NOAA describes rip currents as: “narrow channels of fast-moving water that pull swimmers away from the shore. They can occur at any beach with breaking waves, including the Great Lakes. They are common along the U.S. coastline even when the skies are clear. “ At their strongest rip currents can attain speeds reaching 8 feet per second.

41 people died last year in rip currents along the coasts of the United States and NOAA says on average more than one hundred people die each year from them. This average is greater than death from shark attacks.

Recently during Tropical Storm Beryl NOAA issued warnings from Florida to Virginia about rip currents but they still noted hundreds of rescues and there was one reported death.

NOAA has compiled this list of safety tips:
- Check NOAA’s surf zone forecasts.  
- Study how rip currents work and how to escape them.
- Swim at a beach with a lifeguard and talk with the lifeguard about the safest areas to swim.
- Observe and obey signs and flags posted to warn about rip currents.
- Never swim near jetties or piers where there are fixed rip currents.
- Don’t swim in a large body of water that is subject to changing wind, waves and currents unless you are a strong swimmer.
- Swim with a buddy, never alone.

If you get caught in the grip of a rip current:
- Yell for help immediately.
- Don’t swim against a rip current – it will just tire you out.
- Escape the rip current by swimming parallel to the beach until you are free.
- If you are unable to swim out of the rip current, float or calmly tread water.
- When out of the current, swim toward the shore at an angle away from the rip current.

Most importantly remember when swimming in any body of water: never swim alone, obey all signs, and try to stay calm in an emergency. Even the strongest of swimmers can forget how to avoid emergencies and accidents.

“Each year, America’s beach lifeguards rescue more than 50,000 swimmers from rip currents,” said B. Chris Brewster the president of the United States Lifesaving Association. “Swimming at a guarded beach can reduce your chances of drowning to 1 in 18 million.”